Where are photos of church fire suspects?

Getting police mug shots to accompany news stories about arrests in criminal cases are the yin and the yang of the police and courts beat. Readers expect to see a photo of those charged, and we want to provide it but - there's a catch.

We can't if authorities refuse to give it to us.

That's the case with the recent arrests of three men charged with setting fire to Macedonia Church of God in Christ in Springfield. Our stories have reported their names, ages, and addresses, but not their mug shots. We have reported that they are white because that information is relevant. The church that was torched has a predominantly African-American congregation.

Since the news of their arrests first appeared in the newspaper and on our Web site, there have been follow-up stories as new information became available, but no pictures. We were encouraged to take a picture of the federal prosecutor, mayor, the church's minister and various and sundry other law enforcement officials who appeared at a press conference, but still no pictures of the three men who were arrested.

Meanwhile, stories about arrests in other crimes seem to many readers to appear in the newspaper along with photos almost every day. In some cases, the photos reveal that those arrested were black or Latino. This has prompted some readers to post questions and comments in the forums of MassLive.com suggesting that the pictures of the white men have not been published because they are white. The implication is that either the authorities or the newspaper - or both - are protecting the three men because they are white.

One poster wrote:

"Where is there (sic) pictures. I wonder why there (sic) not here. If it was a spanish (sic) man or black man for stealing a piece of candy there (sic) picture would be here."

That isn't true, of course, and it compels us to explain.

How is it, some may wonder, that the newspaper ran a picture of the black man who isn't under arrest but is being sought by Springfield police in connection with the slaying of another man sitting at a topless bar a few nights ago but did not run the pictures of the three white men arrested Jan. 16 and charged with burning a black church.

The bar shooting is a state case being investigated by city police, and if the suspect is arrested and charged he will appear in state court. The church arson is a federal case involving federal authorities and the federal court. City police routinely provide mug shots, but the feds refuse to provide pictures to the news media or the public.

While state courts allow the news media to take photographs inside the courthouse and the courtroom, the federal government strictly forbids cameras in federal courthouses. Photographers can stake out the entrances and exits in hopes of snapping a quick photo from a distance of those charged as they are being brought in or taken away, but since the alleged perpetrators don't do a perp walk from the building to a parking lot away from the courthouse, it's probably easier to catch tuna in the Connecticut River than it is to get that picture.

The three white men were arrested based on the work of a task force that included both city and federal authorities, but the FBI took control of the case and processed the suspects' fingerprints and mug shots.

Stephanie Barry, our federal court reporter who's covered the FBI's corruption investigation in Springfield, explains that "the feds' policy is not to release photos to the public unless it's a matter of public safety, i.e., a fugitive at large or something." Whether it's a low- or high-profile case doesn't matter. "I've run into this as far back as (convicted serial killer) Kristen Gilbert. They wouldn't release her mug shot, so we had to commission a glamour shot through her lawyers. Even today, I double-checked with the (U.S.) marshals to see if I could get a mug for the counterfeiter on trial. No dice." (Our editors finally decided on Friday to use images of the suspects from their myspace.com profiles).

The arson case has attracted considerable national attention because it has all the markings of a hate crime. The fire was set only hours after Barack Obama was elected president. Authorities have released information indicating that the arson was a result of white men being angry that a black man was headed for the White House. Some people were shocked that something like this would happen in Springfield, Mass. If it had occurred in Springfield, Ga., they wouldn't have been surprised because they are victims of the stereotypical belief that hate crimes such as this only occur in the South and never in Massachusetts.

The Springfield Police Department has been responsive and professional in quickly providing photos of people who are arrested or are suspects, but in this case they are being forced to sit on the sidelines. We believe the FBI should have released these pictures to the news media for publication and broadcast because the level of public interest is high.